


I'll Just Save You

by MishaAnya



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/M, Hurt Clarke, Hurt/Comfort, Protective Bellamy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2015-12-26
Packaged: 2018-05-08 02:37:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5480117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MishaAnya/pseuds/MishaAnya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Canon Divergence: If the 100 had to survive a winter without the events of Season 2. Finn is present, but no communication with Arc, and no current war with the grounders. </p><p>The 100 are struggling to find food during the cold months and Clarke comes up with the idea of ice fishing. Completely Bellarke.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am completely new to this fandom. Literally watched the whole show in four days and now a week later I'm writing fanfiction. Constructive criticism is welcomed but please be kind. Also, I know nothing of ice fishing, I googled some information and tried to make it legitimate. Again please be kind! Thanks!

Winter had settled around the drop ship much faster than they expected. Clarke and Bellamy had searched the compound after the drugs wore off. The container of the blankets Clark had found turned out to be the first of many. They found jackets thicker tarps as well, allowing them to fortify the camp ground during the colder months. Unfortunately, food was running low. Bellamy sent hunting parties out every day, but the camp was lucky if one group managed to bring in a doe. With over eighty teenagers to feed, they were never not hungry.

On a rather cold week, when they were particularly light on food, Clarke marched into Bellamy’s tent. “If we don’t bring food in tonight, we’re going to have a full on riot on our hands.”

“What do you want me to do, Princess? I can’t make the deer give themselves up.”

Clarke’s eyes narrowed. “I’m going to go to the river.”

Bellamy looked at her like she was crazy. “It’s frozen.”

Clarke sighed. “It’s called ice fishing. You cut a small hole in the ice and try to catch whatever hasn’t gone south.”

"You won't catch enough to feed everyone." 

"It's better than nothing and I can always go back and get more." 

“Who are you taking?”

“I don’t need a babysitter.”

Bellamy raised an eye. “Just take someone. The Grounders don’t hibernate.”

Clarke glowered. “I’d rather just go alone.”

“Trouble in paradise?”

“The ground is anything but paradise.”

Bellamy sighed. “I’ll come then. Grab your pack.”

****************************************************************************************************************************************************

Now, they were at the river. Bellamy had brought his gun and Clarke had Octavia’s blade to cut through the ice. The wind was rather strong today, blowing snow into their faces. “Alright, you stay here,” Clarke said.

“Like hell,” Bellamy started.

“We don’t know if the ice will hold, and I weigh less than you,” Clarke pointed out. “I’ll call you over once I find a good spot and we’ll set up the tarp.”

Bellamy narrowed his eyes but nodded. “Just watch your step.”

Clarke nodded and started slowly across the river. She’d read something about ice fishing in earth skills, but she’d be lying if she said she was an expert. She took one step at a time, her ears straining for any noise to indicate the ice was too thin for her weight.

She got more confident as she neared the middle with no problems. She stomped the ice to test it before looking at Bellamy. “I think this is good! Come on out.”

,p>Bellamy nodded to her and Clarke pulled out Octavia’s knife to cut the ice. She drove the knife straight down. It cut through without hesitation and Clarke felt her heart jump into her throat. That seemed too simple. She took a breath before pulling the knife out. Then she head the crack.

“Bellamy…” she called, eyes still on the ice.

“I’m coming, Princess.”

Crack! “Bellamy, stay back!” Clarke managed to make eye contact as the ice around her feet gave away. Bellamy’s heart stopped. It seemed like it took her forever to fall. He stood frozen as her blonde hair disappeared under the ice. “Clarke!”

All hesitation gone, Bellamy ran across the ice, sliding on his legs as he neared the Clarke sized hole in the river. “Clarke!”

He couldn’t see her through the ice. His heart was beating again, fluttering frantically against his chest. He cursed under his breath. The gun lay abandoned by his side and he tore off his jacket and shirt and boots. One deep breath and then he plunged into the black water. The cold tore through him like knives. It took all self control to not gasp. Eyes peeled, he looked through the water. Clarke had moved down stream. He could see her as she banged on the ice with her fists. He swam towards her just as she started to sink. He hurried. His arm wrapped around her side. All his strength went into his legs, propelling him towards the opening.

He shoved Clarke into the air and somehow managed to pull himself out. “Clarke!” He pulled the girl closer to him, teeth chattering. “Clarke!”

Bellamy put his ear to her chest and his stomach dropped. She wasn’t breathing. “Oh no, princess.” He sat on her waist and placed his hands on her chest, pumping furiously. “Don’t you dare, Clarke!”

On the fifth pump she jerked forward. Bellamy scooted off Clarke’s lap and helped her roll over. Relief washed over him as she coughed up the river water. “Bell-l-l-la-my-my,” she chattered.

He looked at her face. Her lips were tinged with blue. “Come on, we gotta get you dry clothes.” He pulled her to her feet, grabbing their things to get to land. Clarke shivered so violently, Bellamy thought her legs would give out. As soon as he was convinced they were off the ice, he raided their packs. Clarke, ever prepared, had packed extra sweats for each of them.

Bellamy threw the sweats at her. “Change,” he barked.

Clarke looked at him and he rushed her, catching her before she collapsed. “I’m fine,” she breathed.

“You’re not fine. You're going to catch hypothermia,” Bellamy said. “You need to change.”

She nodded and Bellamy stood her up before looking away to give her privacy. He put his dry shirt and jacket on and stripped off his wet pants, climbing into the last set of sweats. When Clarke was dressed, he handed her his sweatshirt, wearing only his light jacket.

“Can you make it back to camp?” he asked.

Clarke looked exhausted, but she nodded. The wind was picking up and snow was spitting from the sky. Bellamy raked his eyes over all of the blonde girl in front of him. Her breath was uneven, the blue in her lips wasn’t getting better, and despite the new clothes, she shivered violently. It would be stupid to move her.

“No,” he said. “We’ll set up the tent. You shouldn’t be out in the open like this.”

Clarke didn’t have the energy to argue, so once again she nodded. Bellamy pulled the tent out of his pack and set it up in record time. He shoved Clarke inside. She curled in on herself, huddled down. Bellamy sighed. Her lips were still blue and her breaths came in shudders. He put himself next to her and opened his jacket, pulling her up to his chest. “It works better if we’re both topless…” she chattered.

He scoffed. “Your move princess.”

She sighed, but she was so cold, he knew she wouldn’t say no. She pulled off the sweatshirts she was wearing and curled against his warm torso. Bellamy took the sweatshirts and draped them over any skin he couldn’t cover with his own. “Sh-sh-should of b-b-brought a blanket,” she stuttered.

“Just get warm.”

“Your heart is racing,” she whispered.

“I did just jump into a frozen river for you,” he said retorted.

He felt her stiffen beside him. “Just get warm,” he pleaded again. The blue around her mouth made him nervous.

“You can’t save everyone,” she said.

He put his face into her damp hair and breathed her in. “Then I’ll save you,” he answered. She didn’t stiffen this time. Instead, she curled closer to him, grateful for his warmth. Soon, her breaths slowed, becoming more even. The relief was so overwhelming, he allowed himself to doze with the princess in his arms.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW! The response to this has been overwhelming. I'm sorry I wasn't able to update immediately. Hopefully this chapter will make up for it!

He had done everything right. He’d gotten her out of the water, gave her dry clothes, lent his body heat. He even gave up his own coat, exposing himself to the elements. So why was Clarke the one sprawled on the floor of the dropship shivering with a high fever and struggling to breathe?

He should have known better. She told him it was just a cold, but he should have known she would down play it. Stupid. Instead of resting, she went out with a hunting party the next day. Once again, his heart stopped when he realized they weren’t carrying dinner to camp. They were carrying Clarke.

Now she lay under every blanket they could spare and still shivering. Her lungs rattled with each breathe. Bellamy could barely watch. His co-leader was drowning right before his eyes and he could do nothing to help her.

“How is she?” Finn walked in.

Bellamy sighed. “No change.”

Finn touched her forehead. He shook his head. “We need to get her fever to break.”

“Fresh out of fever reducing medicine, courtesy of the Arc,” Bellamy said, each word thick with sarcasm.

“Well I can’t sit here and watch her die!”

“And I can? Bellamy roared. “You think I’m enjoying this?!”

“You should have talked her out of going hunting.”

Bellamy scoffed. “No one can talk Clarke out of anything. You know that.”

He didn’t leave the dropship that night. Once more, he lay next to the shivering girl. She tossed violently and whimpered. “Shh,” he carded his hand through her damp hair. “You’re going to be okay Clarke.” He wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince more.

He didn’t sleep. At first light, she opened her eyes for first time in days. Bellamy felt relief wash over him. “Bellamy,” her voice came out as a croak.

“You’ve got pneumonia, Princess,” he whispered.

“You look like crap,” she retorted. “When did you last sleep?”

Not since she’d been brought in, but he wasn’t going to tell her that. “How do you feel?”

“Tired,” she breathed. Her face scrunched up with pain as her chest seized up. She turned away from Bellamy and coughed violently, gasping for air. Bellamy held her shoulders and pulled her to his chest. After a moment, the fit subsided and she lay against him.

“You should go,” she said.

“Like hell.” His grip on her tightened.

“Then at least get some sleep,” Clarke pleaded. “The group can’t have you half dead.”

Bellamy nodded, and helped her lay on the blankets. He placed his arm around her, ready to move it. But she leaned into him and her labored breathing lulled him to sleep. 

She had opened her eyes and spoke. The relief was enough to make his eyes close, if only for a few minutes.

He woke to Clarke coughing again. The fit was just as violent. Pain was etched across her face and she squeezed Bellamy’s hand. “Bellamy,” she gasped. “Can you…listen to my chest?”

“What?”

“Just…listen to each side…”she tried to slow her breathing.

He did what she asked. “Tap around each lung.”

“What am I listening for?”

>

“If either side,” she took a shallow breath. “If it sounds dull.”

He tapped around her chest, straining his ear as it pressed against her feverish skin. “Your right side,” he said. “The sound is duller than the other side.”

Clarke nodded.

“What does that mean?”

Clarke closed her eyes. “It’s called a pleural effusion.”

Bellamy looked at her. “Clarke, what does it mean?”

“Fluid around the lung…” Bellamy’s heart stopped once more. “My mom had a patient with it once…” Her breathing was slowing. “If too much collects…my lung could collapse…”

Bellamy took a breath. “Okay, how do we treat it?”

“We don’t have the equipment…”

“The equipment for what?” Finn had walked in, holding a cup of water. His eyes raked over Clarke, taking in her labored breathing, and the hand she had wrapped around Bellamy’s. He handed her the cup of water and Bellamy helped her sit up, propping her up against his chest. When she didn’t move her arm, Bellamy took the cup and held it to her lips.

“We need syringes,” Clarke said after a sip.

Bellamy looked at Finn and he nodded. “I’ll find us something,” 

 

Where or how Finn found syringes was a question Clarke didn’t have the energy to ask. She was fading quickly. Her breathing was more than a little shallow, and a blue tint had crept into her lips. She gave them whispered instructions. Come in from the side, no more than two inches, pull on syringe, drain the fluid. If her lung collapsed, they were to take a separate syringe and plunge it into her chest to re-inflate it.

Finn took the syringe. “Okay, lay flat.”

Bellamy looked at him. “I’ll do it.”

“You haven’t slept in three days,” he said. “Hold her still. It’s going to hurt.”

Bellamy frowned but nodded. He sat on her left side. Clarke took his hand. “Do you want something to bite down on?” he asked.

She shook her head but couldn’t speak. Finn lined up the needle and pushed. Clarke cried out and squeezed Bellamy’s hand. “Hold her down! If she starts coughing it could move the needle!”

Bellamy scooted to behind Clarke’s head. He placed her head on his knees, and held down her shoulders. “Breathe, Clarke. It’s okay.”

Finn pulled on the syringe and they watched as it filled with a yellow, cloudy substance. When it was full, he pulled the syringe out, then repeated the process. With each filled syringe, Clarke’s breaths became deeper. After the third one she opened her eyes. They were red with past pain. “How does it feel?” Finn asked.

She nodded. “You did it…” she struggled to keep her eyes open. The fight was soon lost, and she succumbed to sleep. Finn handed Bellamy a cool rag and he wiped her feverish face with it before dabbing her neck. He still cradled her head in his lap.

“You should get some sleep,” Finn whispered. “I’ll wake you if anything changes.”

Bellamy shook his head. “I’ll sleep when her fever breaks.”

“I can’t take care of both of you,” Finn said back. “And the group needs one of you running things.”

“I’m fine.”

“Stubborn ass…” Finn hissed.

Bellamy placed Clarke’s head on the blankets and crawled next to her, making sure she was covered. She still shivered, but her breathing seemed easier. He draped one arm around her abdomen and lay watching her chest rise and fall, as if scared it would stop. “It almost did,” he reminds himself. The thought is enough to have vile rise up his throat. 

He swallows hard and lets Clarke’s breaths lull him into a doze.

When he wakes, Clarke is facing him and her eyes are open. He takes a deep breath. “How are you feeling?”

“Ready to go hunting,” she croaks. She flashes a small smile.

He’s not convinced. “Does it hurt?”

“Bellamy, I’m fine,” she says.

“You stopped breathing five days ago,” he whispers. “And almost stopped a few hours ago. Forgive me if I’m concerned.”

Clarke sighs. “I’m feeling better.”

Bellamy puts his lips to her forehead. “Your fever is breaking,” he says.

Clarke gives him a strange look. He shrugs. “It’s what my Mom did when Octavia had a fever. We couldn’t exactly go to Med Bay.”

She nods and burrows further into the blankets. “Do you want water or food?” Bellamy asks.

“Just sleep.”

Bellamy nods and starts to move, now that her fever is broken. But her hand grabs him. “Stay.”

He doesn’t need telling twice. Clarke curls into his side and he places an arm around her. “Good to have you back, Princess,” he mumbles into her hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking to the end. I don't normally write two-shots but I really liked how this one turned out. Hope you all enjoyed!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I have a second chapter lined up assuming people don't think this one was shit. Feedback appreciated!


End file.
